GOM TV/Blizzard Sign Exclusive Broadcast Agreement

Short version and what it might meansBlizzard and Gretech-GomTV signed a partnership contract which gives GomTV the exclusive rights to operate and broadcast tournaments for ALL Blizzard games in Korea. This means OnGameNet and MBCGame no longer have the right to broadcast nor operate their leagues (MSL, OSL, PL), nor does KeSPA have the right to operate their league (PL). However, Blizzard is allowing them to continue to operate their leagues until August, which is the end of this proleague season.

Blizzard seems to have opened the door for other companies such as OGN or MBCGame to reach separate agreements with GomTV, so that they can continue to operate their leagues for some price. GomTV's representative also openly invited the OGN and MBCGame to cooperate with them.

Oh, and there's always the possibility that KeSPA will take them to court.

Update - May 27th: Mike Morhaime's letter to Korean e-Sports fans.Update - May 27th: Blizzard to give grace period until August, all other parties must negotiate with GomUpdate - May 28th: KeSPA Speaks out on the situation. More on the bottom of the thread after Mike Morhaime's letterSource:http://www.fomos.kr/board/board.php?mode=read&keyno=107126&db=issue

Entertainment Software Development company and Game Publisher Blizzard Entertainment has made a partnership agreement, as well as broadcasting rights, with Gretec's internet broadcasting channel Gom-TV on May 26th, 2010.

Through this partnership, Gom-TV will now have exclusive rights to broadcasting e-Sports matches and tournaments that involves games such as upcoming Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, Brood War, Warcraft 3, WoW and other expansion packs that will go along with these games.

Since 2009, Gom-TV has been cooperating with Blizzard Entertainment and held tournaments such as Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and WoW. Through this new e-Sports partnership, Blizzard and Gom-TV will deliver the high-quality and exciting tournaments and events straight to the Korean fans, which the Korean fans love.

Paul Sams said "We, the Blizzard Entertainment, are happy to work with people who share the same passion with us, as well as understanding our visions in Korean and international level. Since Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is due soon, we are expecting to broadcast fast and exciting games to the Korean e-Sports fans through Gom-TV"

Bae In-Shik, Gom-TV spokesperson, commented "[We are] happy that the fans will be able to enjoy the Blizzard game tournaments in the near future. In the upcoming Starcraft II tournament, hosted by Gom-TV, we will open the doors to the current Starcraft Pro-gamers in Korea so that they can participate in the tournament. We are also looking to cooperate with other e-Sports related broadcasting companies."

Gom-TV will host Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty tournament after it's official release on July 27th, as well as a Ladder Tournament that will be held by both Gom-TV and Blizzard Entertainment.

Also, Gom-TV will host Global Starcraft II league, Starcraft II World Championship, as well as Clan Battles and Streak (?) Battles in the future. All other future league and event palns will be released later.

Because GomTV offers high-quality stream with Maneul (Or if translated, Garlic), which can be purchased.Blizzard to give grace period until August, all other parties must negotiate with GomSource: Game Chosun

Blizzard stated "With the recent agreement, the rights to operate and broadcast all Blizzard game leagues including Starcraft II belong to GomTV, and [all tournaments] must be run after negotiating with GomTV."

In the case of the present leagues, Blizzard representatives stated "in consideration of the fans and players, the presently running Starcraft 1 leagues will be allowed to suspend negotiations [with gom] until August of this year, or another solution will be found."

There have been several recent events regarding Blizzard’s involvement in Korean e-Sports. I’d like to take this opportunity to explain our stance on the current situation, and Blizzard’s position and vision for the future of e-Sports. But before I begin, I need to clearly explain the relationship between Blizzard and the Korea e-Sports association, and why we made the decision to stop trying to negotiate with the KeSPA office as a partner.

In 2007, we were shocked and disappointed to learn that KeSPA had illegally sold the broadcasting rights for Starcraft tournaments without our consent. With this clear violation of our intellectual property rights, we were forced to become more actively involved in the situation and make our voice be heard. Even so, we began talks with KeSPA in good faith so we could find a way to protect our intellectual property rights as well as help e-Sports to grow further.

For the following three years, we tried very hard to have negotiations where we could correct a skewed situation and reach mutual understanding. However, during this process, what we learned was that KeSPA did not recognize our intellectual property rights, and that our suggestions even up to this day, echoed unheard while KeSPA offered no solutions of their own. Furthermore, the KeSPA office prevented progame teams or progamers from contacting Blizzard by threatening ‘disadvantages.’ Unlike the negative rumors you might have heard, Blizzard’s intention towards e-Sports is not to ‘dominate’ it and create excessive profits from it. From the beginning of the negotiations up to now, the basic framework we have thought of is one where e-Sports can continue to grow, while we can protect our intellectual property rights.

With the release of “Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty” approaching, we decided we could not delay any further in finding a trustworthy partner who respected our intellectual property rights, and decided it was time to find a new way altogether. As a result of that decision, we signed a contract with GomTV which we announced today, which gives them the exclusive rights to hold and broadcast Blizzard game tournaments in Korea. We have cooperated closely with GomTV in the past, and discovered in the process that we have similar values and goals in e-Sports. Also, we believe that GomTV is a capable partner with whom we can not only advance e-Sports in Korea, but in the entire world as well.

We are very proud that Starcraft contributed greatly to Korea becoming a global forerunner in e-Sports. We eagerly await the day when we can support progamers, or GomTV in their efforts to cooperate with the other broadcast companies in the world of e-Sports. We will continue to do our best for the development of e-Sports, and to that end we will improve the quality of matches and add features that will create competitive factors for the enjoyment of the audience. As always, we are deeply thankful for your understanding and support, and we are always open to your thoughts opinions.

When they were asked for their opinion on the Blizzard-GomTV partnership agreement statement on May 27th, KeSPA replied "We will release an official statement through next week's press conference."

Through the new partnership between Blizzard and Gretech, GomTV has the exclusive rights to the Blizzard game events for next 3 years. Thus, people are curious on KeSPA's response to this situation.

During the phone interview between fomos and KeSPA President Kim Chul-Hak, Mr. Kim said "KeSPA did not release any official response regarding this situation. We will most likely hold a press conference around next Monday, and we will release our official statement at the conference. We are planning to have the press conference next Monday, and we will release more details about it on Friday, May 28th."

(Vote): Yes(Vote): No(Vote): I don't think it will have an impact at all

Some netizen quotes:

"곰TV가 CJ그룹거라....온게임넷에서 방송하게되어있다...다만 온게임넷이..케스파이사인데.....관계가 껄끄럽겠구만.ㅋ"

So Gom-TV is CJ's now... (since both companies are under CJ) They will broadcast this on OnGameNet... but wait OnGameNet... it's related to KeSPA... the relationship is going to be awkward (or somewhere along the lines of that).

"ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 너무 웃긴다 온엠이 망하는지 스타2가 망하는지 봐라 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ"

HAHAHAHAHA let's wait and see which fails first: OnGameNet or Starcraft II

Some of you guys don't get this. The current leagues and future leagues, as well as past games, cannot be broadcasted on other channels now without an agreement with Gom-TV. Essentially, hey can't broadcast Starcraft related shows. So what can they do except typing gg? KeSPA should've made an agreement with Blizzard when they offered the deal, which I think, would have been better.

과연 온겜이나 엠겜 처럼 전문 게임채널에서 방송을 안하고 스타1처럼 성공할수있을까?난절대 성공못한다고본다 길어야 1년2 년일듯..>> I wonder if they can succeed like Star1 without having a professional game channel. I think they'll never succeed. one or two years max

On May 27 2010 09:46 supernovamaniac wrote:Through this partnership, Gom-TV will now have exclusive rights to broadcasting e-Sports matches and tournaments that involves games such as upcoming Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, Brood War, Warcraft 3, WoW and other expansion packs that will go along with these games.

Uhhh... So Blizzard shafted Kespa and OGN and MBC? This might not turn out well...

It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of doods.

과연 온겜이나 엠겜 처럼 전문 게임채널에서 방송을 안하고 스타1처럼 성공할수있을까?난절대 성공못한다고본다 길어야 1년2 년일듯..>> I wonder if they can succeed like Star1 without having a professional game channel. I think they'll never succeed. one or two years max

On May 27 2010 09:46 supernovamaniac wrote:Through this partnership, Gom-TV will now have exclusive rights to broadcasting e-Sports matches and tournaments that involves games such as upcoming Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, Brood War, Warcraft 3, WoW and other expansion packs that will go along with these games.